Path: csiph.com!v102.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!feeder.erje.net!eu.feeder.erje.net!xlned.com!feeder3.xlned.com!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed3.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.016 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.97; '*S*': 0.00; 'subject:Python': 0.06; '21,': 0.07; 'function,': 0.09; 'subject:Why': 0.09; 'cc:addr :python-list': 0.11; 'from:addr:rosuav': 0.16; 'from:name:chris angelico': 0.16; 'do,': 0.16; 'wrote:': 0.18; '(not': 0.18; 'cc:addr:python.org': 0.22; 'mon,': 0.24; 'cc:2**0': 0.24; 'gets': 0.27; 'header:In-Reply-To:1': 0.27; 'function': 0.29; 'am,': 0.29; 'message-id:@mail.gmail.com': 0.30; "i'm": 0.30; 'probably': 0.32; 'something': 0.35; 'received:google.com': 0.35; 'really': 0.36; 'doing': 0.36; 'subject:?': 0.36; 'generic': 0.38; 'how': 0.40; 'ensure': 0.60; 'ian': 0.60; 'simple': 0.61; 'to:none': 0.92; 'average': 0.93 DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20120113; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date:message-id:subject:from:cc :content-type; bh=EhoDzYcahqlH1JgTkZ4NnRvpJiHvnHYSqv8IhiLRzKA=; b=k4qmSeYf/rU4rhTfVdJTRhPOUThrksab2GMxBg+hdAvR8dLNBI1h+/GwLqTLrbH4np T8qT29nCnfPkOTDhLxpoCj1CBkkOgNIyOzCObKuzPRrj+y6KZyUWpRqMsCcBEy/7TIAF IV6ZNA17yvpUF/XC7p+IFwLXYv/E9jEeQoV48FGE04W2ezGj9XIln70CJBUhoDxc43yY 1wg6vzJXd9p38ntvAzuFNbhhftyspuuclp2UINb6z8/JATFbsnO1Ev2v33vzrTnwcsW4 uCfDLYbPyTtEraa82+Gy/WHbL0Tn3nfIGNwBKq5cfL9Ad6Y5Z9HULeBz9IXGd3i3R9bv n0BA== MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Received: by 10.220.4.132 with SMTP id 4mr26623225vcr.9.1398012414601; Sun, 20 Apr 2014 09:46:54 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: References: <7x8ur1esa5.fsf@ruckus.brouhaha.com> Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 02:46:54 +1000 Subject: Re: Why Python 3? From: Chris Angelico Cc: Python Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8 X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 11 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1398012417 news.xs4all.nl 2962 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:43300 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:70422 On Mon, Apr 21, 2014 at 2:22 AM, Ian Kelly wrote: > When I'm writing a generic average function, I probably don't know whether > it will ever be used to average complex numbers. This keeps coming up in these discussions. How often do you really write a function that generic? And if you do, isn't it doing something so simple that it's then the caller's responsibility (not the function's, and not the language's) to ensure that it gets the right result? ChrisA